The Hamden community is concerned about a school budget vote passed Monday that includes cuts to sports activities at Hamden Middle School.
“It was very sad,” said Claire Rose of North Haven. “I think middle school is probably the most important time in a kid’s life to get involved in sports.”
“I want to emphasize that playing sports is more than just playing sports. It’s about learning different skills, learning how to interact with people, learning how to win and lose,” said Willie Mewborn of Hamden.
Hamden Public Schools Superintendent Gary Highsmith has asked the town for $6.6 million. The Legislature has allocated $3.5 million to the district, leaving a $3.1 million shortfall.
“I know how important sports are, but I have to ask you: Should we keep our sports programs or should we add another teacher? That’s a decision I have to make,” Hamden Public Schools Superintendent Gary Highsmith said.
The athletic department costs about $47,000 to run, and Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett, whose son will soon be in middle school, has asked for the school budget to be reviewed and state funding considered to allow the sports programs to continue next school year.
“I think sports are really important to our young students, and sometimes sports is the reason kids go to school,” Garrett said, “so we want to make sure they’re using the right numbers to fully calculate the Alliance grant.”
As part of the budget deficit, 18 full-time positions will be eliminated, bringing the total number of layoffs to seven.
“The first thing we wanted to do was to move the cuts as far away from classrooms as possible,” Highsmith added.
Mental health resources have also been targeted for cuts, and the school district president is hoping to secure $1.1 million in federal funding to ensure resources are available to students.
“We would love to be able to use council funds to maintain Clifford Beer services, but it’s up to the service provider to ask council if that’s possible,” Mr Highsmith said.
